You Should Know by Now
by Van the Key of Lain
Summary: Diane. King. A lake. A conversation. Newly Established Kiane. Implied Nudity. (Part of the Embracing Sides universe I'll be working on; so this is set after the starting point of that)


**A/N:** This is a drabble in an multi-chapter, multi installment series of fics centering around King/Diane; all taking place in a post-manga setting after the defeat of the Ten Commandments. Also includes a personal head-canon of mine.

Welcome to my first Seven Deadly Sins/Nanatzu no Taizai fiction. Hope you enjoy! There needs to be more fics for this pair, and for this series in general. SO; I'm adding to it!

I'm also going to be doing something no one else is doing, which is giving Fluffy!King some positive light. Like, I wish people would see his Human form is more than just comic relief. But I digress. On with this!

* * *

It was sometime around midday, judging by the position of the sun, that Diane had quite suddenly decided it was the perfect time for her to indulge herself in a little 'alone time'… something she'd once felt and believed she'd never have a need or use for.

Yet things had changed so much over the years. The Giantess had gained so many things that the once overbearing weight of loneliness she'd come to know as a constant companion, had lessened with each passing year she'd been a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. Friends all near and dear to her heart.

And yes, while there were certainly times in which that feeling of being alone would rouse it's head, much like the creature tattooed on her thigh, it was no where near as defining; as suffocating. The Sins were her family, through and through. A place of belonging. Further still, there was also Matrona, and her own family by extension.

So now, moments of quite by herself were no longer as empty.

This little excursion, however, wasn't just a need to be alone with her thoughts. She already had a destination in mind. It was a place she'd caught site of before the Captain had decided to have Hawk Mama settle down near the current town the group was helping rebuild.

That was what the ragtag team did most of the time now. They'd search out villages, towns, and people who'd been unfortunate victims of the Ten Commandments destruction and helped in any way they could. Rebuilding towns and rebuilding lives. King Bartra of Liones had even had a good portion of his own knights doing the same. It was as rewarding as it was taxing.

So what better way to relax and ease her tensed and tired muscles than to enjoy a dip in a lake? The water had looked so inviting, so tranquil.

It took a little time to reach the lake, hidden away in the small forest the tavern rested at the edge of; though she didn't mind the peaceful walk. The way the forest canopy filtered the sunlight through, and the impressive height of the trees (to her current five foot five total) made for a pleasing atmosphere that at her normal height she'd not be able to enjoy.

Of course, she was pretty sure her newfound appreciation of all things of the forest nature, minus most bugs, had to do with a certain Fairy she was personally close with… but who knows. She smiled to herself.

The lake came into view then; amidst a clearing. The sun reflected off the surface making it look like glass and Diane could feel the giddiness in her rising. She quickly trotted to the shore, kicking off a shoe to toe the water.

It felt heavenly. It was warmed by the sun, yet there was also a note of coolness to it the deeper she prodded. Satisfied with this, she carefully set down the bag she had been carrying which held a towel. Next to this she tossed her current attire. Now bare to the world around her, the miniaturized Giantess spun on her heel and proceeded into the water. She waded up to her knees before taking a full plunge.

The effect of the water on her was instantaneous, and she could feel as if a great weight had been lifted off her. Granted she was also weightless by the very means of the water itself… but mentally she was already feeling so relaxed. Diane leaned back, taking in a deep breath, and held onto it for a moment. She felt her body slowly rise to meet with the surface; and she floated there for a moment before letting her breath release.

Diane listened quietly to her surroundings as she basked in the water and sunlight. The gentle breeze, the sounds of birds, various wildlife around thrumming…and then…

A knowing grin splayed on her lips.

A light flitting of wings.

She waited for a couple of minutes, before letting her legs drop below the surface; her feet touching the lake bottom. Her back was facing the shore. Yet she gave a casual side turn, a sly smile on her lips.

"If you're trying to be sneaky, it's not working."

A startled gasp was his oh so elegant reply.

"I wasn't trying to be sneaky." King retorted.

Diane turned to face the Fairy, noticing he was folding her clothes. She smiled at his antic.

"So did you come out here just to do my laundry or are you going to join me?"

King flushed a little.

"I did come out here to see you, of course…but…" He looked at the water apprehensively; his wings twitched.

"I'd join you but…You know I can't get my wings wet."

Diane inched just a little closer to the shore, eyeing her Fairy and his impressive appendages. They were a perfect fit on him (and so large!) she thought. The hues of green, a rimmed stripe of blue and touches of yellow. The part she loved the most were the ribbon like tails the lower pair had. She was still getting use to him having them, surely as much he was himself. He'd only had them now… for three months? If even that?

Either way, it still didn't deter her determination to have him join her. She was forming a plan already, and she silently praise herself. Truly she could only be this devious when he was involved.

"Then just keep them up and only come up to here." She raised herself up, and drew a line across her stomach with her hand.

God the offer was tempting. So damn much. He was more than content just watching her from the shore, but then she had to go and just… be… like that…his face, ears and neck felt like they were burning. It didn't matter that they'd been been together for the past three months, and it didn't matter that they'd already shared quite a few intimate moments of passion together; King knew there would still be moments in which the woman before him would still elicit blushes across his face and steal his breath away.

"Please?" Diane cooed. And lastly…" _Harlequin_."

He was already folding up his navy shirt next to hers now, and Diane outwardly smiled brightly, while inwardly she cheering at herself and just how much she could affect him. Secretly, she'd never admit, but she loved riling him up; seeing how she could push him into various states of disarray and fluster.

Oh, but she knew he wasn't a completely innocent party either. He did it to her as well… though to be fair, she'd been coaxing this side out of him for just shy of a month. King was still very shy by nature, but she had starting seeing new sides of him only too recently… and she was enjoying every bit of it.

So what if she was flustered or caught off guard by a sudden and bold move from her other; it made her heart beat faster and her knees week. So yeah, turnabout; fair play… something like that?

The sound of shuffling water pulled her away from her inner musings and she was glad to see he'd managed to wade out to right about where she'd mentioned previous.

"I'm not sure how long this is going to work." He gave her an apologetic smile, but he was still happy to be here with her for the moment.

Diane calmly drifted over to him. She wrapped her arms around King's waist as she came up to him. She wasn't standing, so she was about level with him, which just made it all the easier for him to simply lean in and gently kiss her.

A pleasant hum escaped Diane, and she pressed closer to the lithe figure as his arms circled her shoulders; the kiss deepening. She loved the feeling of her bare skin against his; the intimacy in it. Moments like this often lead to more amorous affairs, but there were also time it was purely just the need of contact without any barriers.

It had happen so quickly after their trial, yet who could blame either of them? She'd regained all her memories after going through that ordeal, and was just so _tired_ of missing the chance, of being so shy, and scared she might once again forget these precious memories that she just… blurted everything out. King had done the same, so of course they started laughing so hard it reduced them both to tears. Happy ones though.

They'd had only a few moments together to explore this new relationship between them when they'd been returned to the Fairy King's Forest. There were, after all, still other commandments out there to face, and they still didn't know that their Captain was actually back among the living.

So while everything was still new, still a learning experience between them, still exiting and passionate (which honestly they doubted would ever lessen) and still shy in some regards; it still felt as natural as breathing to them. To be like this. This close. This connected.

King pulled away then but not out of the embrace.

"I'll go now and let you finish." He gave her a gentle smile. How she loved that look on his face.

"Yeah…" She spoke, but didn't make a move to let him go.

She eyed his wings. While of course she was happy for King to finally have them and knew what it meant to him, this was probably one of the few times she was annoyed by them. Oh there were other reasons too she could find reason to complain about them (almost all of those moments dealing with things that only remained between them and no one else thank you very much) but she would never want him to give them up for the world. It was more like the feeling of missed opportunities.

Like how if he didn't have them, she could just drag him into the water right now.

Which, was exactly what she planned to do, but it would be incredibly easier and less taxing on him.

But nah, there was always a way around these kinds of things. She felt kind of bad for exploiting him… but only a little. When it came to her Fairy, she could rival Ban's sense of greed.

"Or…" Diane suddenly smiled, and her eyes danced with mischief.

King's expression went from calm to curious, then to outright panic when she suddenly scooped him up bridal style out of the water.

"D-Diane! What are you doing?!"

"Ready?"

"N-N-No! No I am not! I can't-" Oh no. Oh hell no.

She smacked her thumb against his back; right in the center of where his wings had grown, causing them to jolt. She learned this sort of froze him for a moment. Call it cruel but it wouldn't do to have him fly off.

And then just like that she tossed her lithe partner some six odd feet towards the deep part of the lake; King's shrill cry was ended by the sound of a rather large splash.

She tried to hold back her laughter as the ripples of the water splashed against her torso. He was so dramatic. She didn't have to wait long and soon enough he came back up, gasping a bit, and looking a little indignant.

"Diane! What the hell?!" He bit back; his voice gruff, deeper.

Diane gave him a sly smile, with a bit of a grin.

"Your wings can't get wet now, can they? Hehe."

She was right, of course. A last second switch into his Human form prevented his wings from getting wet, and they were protected while he stayed this way. He didn't bother answering and instead settled on giving her an annoyed stare.

Diane swam over to him, still looking a little coy, but more apologetic.

"I wanted you to stay." She said softly, bringing her hands up to rest against his chest.

"You could have just _asked_." He deadpanned.

"Where's the fun in that?"

It was really hard to stay mad at her, try as he might. He sighed, and his expression relaxed.

"What do you want to do?" King asked; his voice gaining a surprising smoothness to it when he spoke quietly like this.

Diane hummed a moment. She'd already had an idea of what she wanted, but first…she moved her hands up to his shoulders and pulled herself closer to him; leaning up. He leaned down, meeting her half way; keeping her from drifting with his right arm around her back, and his left hand trailing up her neck. His thumb brushed the side of her cheek as he cradled her head in his hand (she mentally squeaked); his fingers tangling with her hair.

Diane let herself get lost against his lips. King was like night and day. At times he was shy, and hesitant, and his movements were light. Other times he was bolder, his movements sure, and he radiated confidence. Further still, his normal self and facade self had vastly different feels. Yet both were familiar, and both each had their unique advantages. She considered herself extremely blessed to have a man with such an amazing array of talent.

In a way, it almost felt as if she had two different lovers; yet the thing that never changed between his two selves was the way he kissed her.

Diane pulled away then, content. The way she eyed him told him they'd continue down the path a bit later, but for now, she wanted something else.

"I want a massage."

"Oh?"

She nodded and was about to go on, but she was caught off guard by the quick shift of the hand on her back suddenly cupping half her ass in a light squeeze.

"SHOULDERS! Damn it!" Diane balked and shifted in his grip and splashed an arc of water at him.

King laughed, letting her go. She grabbed both his hands then, and swam back towards the shore so they could both touch the lake bed. Once she found footing, she spun around and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"My shoulders are aching a little from the other day."

"I'm not surprised. You spent most of the day lifting all those building materials for half the town." King pushed his thumbs against her shoulder blades, moving them in a rhythm he knew all too well while his fingers pressed at various points against Diane's collar bone.

Diane murmured at his touch. She could already feel the tension still there beginning to melt away. She wasn't sure how he was so good at this, but she had an inkling it might have been that he overheard her talking about having muscle aches. Perhaps he learned how do this just for her? She liked to think so.

Honestly, a lot of the things she liked or favored or had always wanted she found King was already well aware of and easily found ways of granting her desires. It made Diane realize just how much King paid her attention. Also for how long.

 _Over 700 years…_

She felt her face warm at this thought. Even now, she couldn't get over how utterly devoted he was to her. It made her feel both special and a little insecure. How she could feel like she was the most blessed person to walk this land just because he thought she made the sun and moon rise…. or how she couldn't understand how this precious creature, with powers over life and death and disaster, _the King_ of an _entire race_ … could see any good in a common Giantess like herself.

Diane let the palms of her hands rest against the surface of the water; gliding them gently back and forth. She gave a small sigh.

"You okay?" King asked quietly.

Diane was quite a moment, staring down at their reflections in the water.

"What's going to happen… once we're done with all this?"

Diane looked up; not really looking at the sky, but some rather farther off point.

"I mean, all of us won't be together forever… no matter how much fun that would be. I'm sure Merlin will find something she'll want to sink her teeth into and she'll eventually leave with Escanor and Gowther in tow. Ban and Elaine will most likely travel all over Britannia…Elizabeth and the Captain… well they'll either go back to Liones or keep traveling around the country running the Boar Hat…"

She paused, and looked back towards the shore of the lake.

"You've been away from the Fairy King's Forest and your people for so long. And I'm talking overall; I know we were just there a couple of months ago…"

Diane frowned.

"And I feel like I should go to Megadozer; to see what's become of it and the rest of the Giant Clan…and Matrona…but…" She paused.

"Being in the Sins was the first time I truly ever felt like my world was right. That I finally found a place I belonged, even though I was a Giantess. Part of me doesn't want to go back-"

"Diane." King interrupted her.

The miniature Giantess turned her head in King's direction; not quiet looking at him, but still meant to indicate she was listening.

"Why would you think you'd have to go alone?"

Diane now shifted herself entirely, slipping out of King's gentle hold on her and turning around to face her partner. His hands fell gently back to her shoulders once she'd stopped moving and was leaning into him.

"Because your people need you! Sure things have been peaceful for now, but there's always a chance something could happen again. Like before." She started her sentence with bravado, but ended it rather quietly.

Yet she began on again before the other had a chance to respond.

"I'm not about to pull you away from your _responsibility_ just for my sake, nor would I want you to. Besides… it's your _home_. Don't you miss it?"

"Of course I do. I miss everyone there. But…" King's expression softened.

He lifted his hands to cup her face; leaning down to rest his forehead against hers.

"Diane…you're my home too. You always have been. Two hundred years ago, sixteen years ago, now. I promised you back then I'd always love you and always be by your side. I haven't always been able to keep that complete promise, but I am now. I'm not leaving your side ever again."

" _Harlequin_." Diane hitched, her eyes misting over and threatening to spill tears, and she could feel her face was just a bit more warmer than his hands framing it.

"Of course I'd love for you to live with me in the Fairy King's Forest; have dreamed of it for such a long time; but I don't care _where_ we live, as long as I'm with _you_."

Diane let the tears fall, letting out a hiccuped laugh as she broke from King's hold on her and launched herself up in an awkward embrace; her face buried against his neck with her arm around the other side.

King used his arms to heft her up just a bit more; so that her awkward embrace was less so and more comfortable.

"You should know that by _now._ " He said, a note of a slight snarky sneaking in there.

Diane leaned back, looking him in the eyes.

"Well I'd have know _sooner_ if someone had said _something_." She replied back with a dismissive tone; though the illusion of her being upset was just that; her smile telling so.

"Would you really have believed me then if I had?" He challenged.

"I'm sure you could have convinced me." She challenged right back; leaning in close and ending her sentence against his lips.

Moments of quiet passed before either spoke again.

"Can we go back now? My skins getting all wrinkly." Diane gave a small pout.

King hummed a note, and moved Diane in his arms so that he was now carrying her bridal style. Diane felt her face warm a little, and gave him a sheepish smile. He in turn gave her one of his more sincere gentle smiles.

Which in the blink of an eye changed to one of his very mischievous looks.

Diane blinked.

And was suddenly tossed about five feet back into the deep end of the lake.

" _KIIIING_!"


End file.
